Storm of controversy still swirling over Orange County Government Center

Monday

Aug 27, 2012 at 2:00 AM

Ever since Orange County Executive Ed Diana closed the county Government Center in Goshen following the one-two punch of Hurricane Irene and Tropical

BY CHRIS MCKENNA

Ever since Orange County Executive Ed Diana closed the county Government Center in Goshen following the one-two punch of Hurricane Irene and Tropical

Storm Lee, a seemingly endless debate has been waged about whether to renovate the 42-year-old architectural landmark or tear it down and replace it.

Yet, almost a year later, the future of the office complex remains uncertain.

Diana pitched plans for a $75 million replacement in March, but failed to win enough support on the Legislature to move forward, and no alternatives have been proposed.

Debate is likely to resume after Sept. 6, when a special legislative committee is due to issue a report on what it has learned about the Government Center's condition and its renovation prospects.

Democratic Leader Jeff Berkman, the chairman of that panel, said Friday he supports a total overhaul and expansion of the complex and hopes the Legislature will come to a consensus after reading the committee's findings.

"I'm ready to have a conversation with my colleagues on the Legislature about how to proceed," he said.

Others might not be so ready. Earlier this month, lawmakers approved spending up to $75,000 on another building study, this time focusing on the contentious issues of the Government Center's facade and multi-layered roof.

That report could take months to complete, once the county has defined its scope and hired consultants to do the work.

Legislator Leigh Benton, a Republican who supports replacing the Government Center, said Friday he expects the new study to include an examination of the building's construction and design flaws — and that lawmakers should make no decisions until that work is done, which he hopes will be by the end of the year.

"I'm considering this to be the last, final possible study, where I don't think anyone should have any questions from the result of this," said Benton, chairman of the Legislature's Physical Services Committee.

In the meantime, nearly 280 displaced Government Center workers remain in scattered locations, some in other county buildings and others in rented offices in the Village of Goshen. The Emergency Services Center, home to the county's 911 operation, has become the de facto seat of power.

For ordinary citizens, the most noticeable impact of the Government Center's closure probably has been the loss of the Department of Motor Vehicles office it housed.

Most of that business has shifted to Middletown, where the county has one of its three other motor-vehicle offices. Transactions there are up 84 percent from last summer, compared to increases of 32 percent in Port Jervis and 18 percent in the City of Newburgh during that time, County Clerk Donna Benson said.

Customers thwarted by the Government Center's closure also appear to have gravitated to the Internet for license renewals and other motor-vehicle tasks. The county, which keeps 12.5 percent of those transaction costs, projects a $300,000 dip in revenue from 2011 to 2012, Benson said.

The county is considering renting space elsewhere in Goshen to reopen the motor-vehicle office and has three potential sites, but no decision has been made, she added.

One factor weighing on the county as lawmakers continue to debate the Government Center's future is the state's demand for a decision about the court space in the building that is no longer being used.

The county has created two small courtrooms in the attached courthouse as a temporary replacement, but court officials want a long-term solution and have threatened to impose financial sanctions if they don't get one. They later backed off on the threat with the understanding that the county would decide by early fall.